Game Preview: Mississippi State at Ole Miss

SEC Play

Mississippi State will travel to Ole Miss and play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

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Ole Miss, under first year coach Chris Beard, is 17-3 on the season and undefeated at home with a 12-0 record.

Mississippi State, under second year coach Chris Jans, is 14-6 and winless on the road going 0-4. They do, however, have two top-10 wins this season including beating, at the time, No. 8 Auburn and No. 5 Tennessee.

This will be the first of two meetings over the next three weeks. State and Ole Miss will meet for the 269th time. The Bulldogs lead the series 149-119.

When they met last season, it was a back-and-forth game that went into overtime and ended 69-61 in favor of State. They will be looking for their 4th-straight victory over the Rebels.

Mississippi State is led by a team of experienced players behind Tolu Smith III, Shakeel Moore, D.J. Jeffries, Dashawn Davis and Cameron Matthews. They will need big nights from all if they want a chance to get their first road win against a rival.

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Keys to Success for the Bulldogs

1. Defense: If the Bulldogs want a win, they need to contain the explosive Ole Miss offense. For two of the three Rebels losses, they have been held to under 64. State has seen success when they are able to play lockdown defense and rattle the opponent’s offensive game. They own the sixth-best three-point defensive percentage in college basketball at 27.7%.
2. Limit the stars: The Rebels have a plethora of players that average double figures. They will need to be contained to give the Bulldogs a chance.
3. Silence the crowd: Ole Miss students get loud and contribute to the atmosphere greatly.

Keys to Success for the Rebels

1. Shut down Tolu Smith III: 5th-year Smith is the Bulldogs leading scorer, averaging 17.1 point per game. He can get hot fast, and the team feeds off that.
2. Limit the bench: Freshman Josh Hubbard is the team’s second leading scorer and primarily comes off the bench. State’s bench ranks 17th in the nation averaging 30.9 points per game.
3. Keep it close: The Rebels are 6-0 in games decided by five points or less. If it’s close they have proven, they can grind it out.

With Mississippi State’s 3-point defense and Ole Miss’s 3-point offense, it will be a battle to see who can control beyond the arc and ultimately get the win.